Pirates, Monsters And Babies, Oh My! (Blog)

While fans tend to cast their vote for their favorite movies by buying tickets at the box office, those who would rather let the actors and actresses battle it out online will have a diverse choice when it comes to this year's SyFy Genre Awards.

In terms of Best Actor/Movie, you have a would-be Spartan warrior, an almost crazy pirate looking for treasure, a monster from the imagination of a little girl, a man who is trying to save the world with a baby, and a man who is trying to save the world by being the Man of Steel.

Gerard Butler, who would become King Leonidas in last year's "300," got his start, in all places a James Bond movie. Playing a small role in "Tomorrow Never Dies" in 1997, Butler would later work his way up through British televisions and movies before picking up the title role in "Dracula 2000."

Butler's big break, however, would come in the form of a 2004 musical directed by Joel Schumacher, playing the gifted and handsome Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera." SyFy Portal assistant news editor Alan Stanley Blair should be extra proud of Gerard making the Genre Awards cut this year, as the actor was born in Glasgow but raised in nearby Paisley, Scotland.

It's hard to have lived in the 1990s and 2000s without knowing who the heck Johnny Depp is. He modeled his character, Capt. Jack Sparrow, after singer Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and in the process, became part of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride at Disney World.

The rise of Depp is probably one of the more famous stories in Hollywood. He got his first big break as Glen Lantz in an independent, not-much hyped horror film called "Nightmare on Elm Street" in 1984. When that movie became a sleeper hit, so did Depp. Two years later, he would have an even bigger role as Pvt. Gator Lerner before starring in one of the Fox network's early series, "21 Jump Street" as Officer Tom Hanson.

Depp has had an amazing career, especially in movies. He was the title role in 1990's "Edward Scissorhands." He played Dean Corso in 1999's "The Ninth Gate" as well as Ichabod Crane that same year in "Sleepy Hollow." And young ones will know him also as Willy Wonka in the 2005 remake of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

Before playing Pan in "Pan's Labyrinth," Doug Jones made his mark with genre audiences as Gentlemen in the very popular "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode "Hush." Jones has had other memorable roles, whether fans may have noticed it or not, in such shows and movies as "Tales From the Crypt," "Mimic," "The Outer Limits," "G vs. E," "Alien Hunter," "The Time Machine," "Men In Black II" and "Hellboy."

Clive Owen played Theo Faron in "Children of Men," but has had some strong roles in genre projects such as "Sin City" and the upcoming "Sin City 2."

Owen began acting at the age of 13, and has been a key part of British television and cinema ever since. In fact, when MGM was looking for a new James Bond for "Casino Royale," at least one poll said that it should be Owen who played the title role. Producers, however, thought different, and picked Daniel Craig instead.

And finally, there's Brandon Routh, who had to break out of obscurity to take on probably one of the most scrutinized roles of all time: Superman.

Playing the Man of Steel in "Superman Returns" may have looked easy for Routh, but it was days and days of strenous shooting. He didn't do any genre work before Superman, in fact, he didn't really do a lot of work at all. The up-and-coming actor did make appearances in "Gilmore Girls," "Cold Case" and "Will & Grace" before landing the highly sought-after role.

For Best Actress/Movie, Ivana Baquero is an instant leader in this category not just because her name comes first alphabetically, but because despite her age when filming "Pan's Labyrinth," she blew audiences away.

Born on the day I graduated from high school, Baquero's career leading up to "Labyrinth" was brief, stretching back to when she was just 9 years old.

Giving Baquero a run for her money in the category is Kate Bosworth, who starred alongside Routh in "Superman Returns" The actress got her start in two episodes of "7th Heaven" in 1997 and really stuck to more non-genre movies before taking on Lois Lane. However, she would've had "Sin City" to add to her credits, as she was the first choice for the character of Gail, a role that instead went to Rosario Dawson.

If Lena Headey thought her role as a Spartan queen in "300" was difficult enough, she is going to have her work cut out for her trying to fill Linda Hamilton's shoes in the upcoming winter Fox series "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."

Headey doesn't have a lot of genre credits to her name, but one thing to note from her resume is her role as Elise Moran in a 1994 telemovie version of "MacGyver."

Keira Knightley is the beautiful Elizabeth Swann in "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" plus its two prequels, and has been making the movies a fun place to be since her film debut as Natasha Jordan in 1994's "A Village Affair."

In 1999, Knightley got to play the role of Sabe in "Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace" and played Guinevere in the 2004 version of "King Arthur."

Finally, Julianne Moore rounds out a talented field for her role as Julian in "Children of Men." Moore has been in just about every good movie that has ever existed, most notably "The Fugitive" in 1993, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" in 1997, and the role of Clarice Starling in 2001's "Hannibal."

Voting for the SyFy Genre Awards begins July 25. To see the full list of nominees -- including a video that introduces them -- simply click HERE.

SyFy Portal will feature stories on all of the SyFy Genre Awards nominees leading up to the opening of the polls. Voters can cast their ballot once per day per e-mail address through Aug. 25.